2008 Judges Bio's
Dennis Chastain
Den’s Wood Den
181202 Hwy 101
Forks, WA 98331
360-374-5079
Dennis has been carving in Forks, Washington for the past
twenty years.. Before that he had worked in the timber industry.
He said if you go to the landings where they've removed timber you may be
surprised to find carvings of chairs, faces in the wood and maybe even a
mushroom. Some of these were carved by Dennis. He would carve
mushrooms in the wood that was left, he started taking them home and sitting
them around his yard. One day someone stopped and asked him how much to
buy one of them. He said he started out selling them for
$5.00-$10.00. He was inspired to try something new, so he started
carving boots...he says it all mushroomed from there. Dennis has
participated in the Sedro Woolley, WA competition for years, taking first
place three times. He has been a judge there as well as Ocean Shores and
Westport, WA many times. We are honored that Dennis has agreed to come
down to judge here in Reedsport.
Peggy O’Neal
WOW Arts & Exhibits
2036
Sherman Ave
North
Bend
,
OR
97459
(541) 756-2393
Peggy received five intensive years of education and
training as a fine arts painter and illustrator at the San Francisco Academy of
Art. Returning to her hometown of
North Bend
in 1988, she developed her artistic style of energetic realism on a grand
scale. She has become widely recognized for public art projects, corporate
commissions, murals, and painted exhibitory. Her collectors include: Chinook
Winds Casino, Menasha Corp., Western Bank, Mill Casino-Hotel,
Umpqua
Discovery Center, Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, and many more
including numerous private collectors. She and husband Larry Watson own WOW Arts
& Exhibits. She is the “O” in WOW!
Tamara Szalewski
Mindpower Gallery & Infinity Store
417
Fir Ave
Reedsport
,
OR
97467
(541) 271-2485
Tamara has a long history of involvement with various arts organizations and
associations and community service organizations and boards. She is a board
member and past-president of the Umpqua Valley Arts Association, and is a
partner in the Mindpower Gallery. She is a past vice-president of the
Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce, past vice-president of the
Reedsport Jaycees, and past chairman of the Lower Umpqua Economic Development
Forum.
Larry Watson
WOW Arts & Exhibits
2036 Sherman Ave
North
Bend
,
OR
97459
(541) 756-2393
Larry majored in theater arts at the
University
of
Hawaii
and Western Washington State College. He turned his talents to ceramic
sculpture and studied for four years at Pottery Northwest in
Seattle
. From there, he went on to direct the clay and sculptured department for the
City of
Seattle
at
Seward
Art Museum
. His works have been shown at
Bellevue
Art Museum, Northwest Arts &Crafts in
Seattle
and the Grand Palais in
Paris
, to name just a few. In 1983, he was appointed Director of the
Coos
Art Museum
where he developed 20 major exhibitions. He left there in 1994 to devote full
time to WOW with his wife, Peggy. Larry is the last “W” in WOW!
Ken Means
Ken Means Studio
57784
Fairview
Road
Coquille, OR 97423
(541) 396-4501
Ken Means, a self-described “Jack of all trades,” started his career in the
early 1960’s as a painter. “I have always had the proficiency to draw,” he
says. “I can’t remember a time I wasn’t drawing or painting.” By the
mid-1970’s, Ken was teaching drawing and painting at
Pasadena
City
College
in
Pasadena
,
Calif.
, and was already becoming very well known as a competitive wood carver. In the
late 1970’s Ken added a wood-carving class to his schedule at PCC. Ken started
carving carousel horses by the early 1980’s for his daughters and continued
his teaching career at Otis Parson School of Fine Art in
Los Angeles
. Wanting a change from big-city life, Ken moved his family to Coquille. There
he continued to teach wood-carving classes including summer seminars on carousel
carving. In fact, Ken has begun working on the realization of his life’s
dream. He has begun to carve a 39-horse carousel which will include a multitude
of creatures from horses to lions, to dragon-shaped chariots